Apparatus for folding band material



Aug. 3, 1954 Q w|RTH 2,685,444

APPARATUS FOR FOLDING BAND MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed Nov. 25. 1952 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Aug. 3, 1954 0. WIRTH 2,685,444 7APPARATUS FOR FOLDING BAND MATERIAL Filed Nov. 25, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES eaten: orrlce2,685,444 AIPARATUS FOR FOLDING BAND MATERIAL Otto Wirth, Zurich,

6 Claims. 1

' of the machine as disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No.315,293 filed October 17, 1952.

The folding apparatus according to the invent-ion includes a supply reelon which the band material is wound, arm on which the reel is carried, alever system by which the arm is oscillated back and forth in ahorizontal plane for the major portion of its stroke, pulling also theband back and forth, the arm end pulling the band executing an upwardmovement at the beginning or each stroke and a downward movement at theend of each stroke, and two stacks of fingers located respectively atopposite ends of the travelled by the arm end. The arrangeinent is suchthat as the end of the arm pulling the band material with it reacheseach end of its path, a finger in the stack adjacent that end of thepath is pushed to a position over the band. Thus when the arm end andband material moves in the opposite direction the material is foldedover the finger so that as the arm end oscillates back and forth, theband material will be piled in folds laid atop one another.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrates a practical embodiment ofthe invention Fig. 1 i a view in side elevation of the folding machine;Fig. 2 is a top plan view; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but withcertain elements omitted; Fig. 4 is a view in rear elevation of a subgroup of elements of the machine; Figs. 5 and 6' are detailed sectionstaken on lines -5, 5-8 respectively of Fig. 3; and Figs. 7 and 8 aredetail perspectives of certain elements of the machine.

With reference now to the drawings the machine is seen to be comprisedof a horizontal base plate I on which is mounted an upright hollow tube2 which serves as a support for other ele ments. Adjacent the upper endof support 2, a fixed pin 3 extends transversely outward and constitutesa sliding pivot for the upper end of arm 6, the latter being provided atits upper end with a longitudinally extending slot do that receives thepin 3. At a point below pin 3 a lever 5 is pivotally mountedintermediate it ends on the support 2 by means of a transverse pivot pin6 which extends through an opening in the support. Pin 53 is securedrigidly to lever 5 and hence is oscillatable with the lever in thesupport. One end of lever 5 is pivotally connected by pin l to anintermediate portion or" arm 4 and the opposite end of lever 5 ispivotally connected by pin 8 to one end of an arcuate lever B. Theopposite end of lever ii is pivotally connected by pin Hi to a circulardisc H at a point adjacent its rim por- Switzerland, assignor to MicafilA.-G., Zurich-Alstetten, Switzerland Application November 25, 1952,Serial No. 322,427

Claims priority, application Switzerland November 26, 1951 align theprojections 25, 25

tion. Disc ii is mounted on a horizontal shaft i2 for rotation about itscenter, the shaft being supported in a bearing iii upstanding on thebase i. Disc ii is rotated by any suitable means and for purposes ofillustration there is shown a handie is secured to the disc by which torotate the same by hand. However the disc can be n10- tor driven ifdesired.

A reel !5 on which the wound prior to folding is mounted for rotationabout its center by a stub shaft ll projecting laterally from arm :5 andlocated intermediate the lower end of arm t and the connecting point oflever B therewith. Friction braking means (not shown) for the reel itsuch as by friction contact between the side flanges of the reel and twosheet metal discs may be included to maintain the band material under aslight tension as it is pulled off the reel by the reciprocatingmovement of arm 4.

The operative nature 01 the interconnected arm i and levers 5, ii issuch that as the disc H is rotated, the lower end of arm t will moveback and forth along a path as shown by the dash-dot line It will benoted that most of the path is rectilinear with the lower end of arm lmoving parallel with the base plate l throughout most of its stroke butin a plane above that of the plate I. At the opposite ends of thestroke, the lower end of arm a moves in a generally vertical directionfrom its spaced starting points l8, H) at the plane of the plate i alonga steep curvilinear path which merges intothe rectilinear portion of thepath.

Within the limits of movement of the lower end of an fl and supported onthe base plate I for movement transversely thereto are two packages orstacks S, S of fingers 2i? in the form of fiat steel plates. As shown inFig. 2 these fingers contain longitudinally extending front and rearslots ii which receive pins 22 upstanding on base plate i by which thefingers are guided in their transverse motion. The fingers iii form thefold lines for the successive folds of material produced by the machineand are so arranged as to be projected in sequence beginning at thebottom of the stack at the end of each stroke of the arm i. Themechanism for effecting this result comprises a cradle 23 journalledintermediate its ends for an angular oscillatory movement in asubstantially horizontal plane about an upstanding bearing shaft 25 onthe base plate l. The opposite ends of cradle 21% are provided withhorizontal projections 25, 25', respectively having a thickness equal tothat of one of the fingers 2d so as to be able to push against the rearend of the lowermost finger in the stack without disturbing the otherringers. A tension spring is (see Fig. 6) connected at one end to themedial portion of cradle 23 and which establishes a vertically upwardpulling force on the cradle is utilized to at opposite ends of thecradle with the next-to-be-actuated finger in band material It is thestack with which that projection is associated. Consequently as thecradle 23 is oscillated about its bearing shaft 2:3 to project thefingers 29 in alternation from the two stacks S, S into the pathtraveled by arm 4, the cradle will move upwardly on shaft 24.

The cradle 23 is oscillated in timed relation with the movement of arm ito the end that one of the fingers 28 in the stacks will be pushed intothe path of the arm when the arm reaches each end of its stroke. Toeffect this synchronizing action, it will be seen that pivot pin 8,which will be remembered is secured to and oscillates with lever 5, hassecured thereon the upper end of a crank arm 2? which therefore willalso oscillate with lever '5 and hence also arm To the lower end of arm2? is connected one end of a tension spring 28, the opposite end of thisspring being connected to a lateral projection is on a swingle 30.Swingle 33 is mounted also on the shaft 24 for angular oscillatorymovement. Swingle 3i; underlies the cradle 23 and is provided with apair of upstanding pins 3| which pass through apertures 32 in the cradlearms and exercise a guiding function on the cradle. As crank arm 21reaches each end of its stroke a torque will be established on theswingle Si? and hence also cradle 23 tending to rotate them about theaxis of shaft 24. However in order to prevent movement of the swingleand cradle arm 4 reaches the end portion of its stroke it will be seenthat cooperative with opposite ends of the swingle 3Q are latches in theform of levers 33, 33' mounted pivotally intermediate their ends on baseplate i Levers 33, 33' are arranged transverse to the plane of movementof arm 5 and the forward end portion of each lever is so located as tobe depressed by the lower end of the arm 4 as the latter descends uponreaching the end of its stroke thus raising the rear end of the leverwhich otherwise lies in the plane of the swingle 3G and is engagedthereby.

With reference now to Fig. 2, lever 33 at the right side of the machineis shown with its rear end engaging the side face of swingle 38 thuslocking the swingle and hence also the cradle 23 against movement in aclockwise direction. The swingle and cradle remain locked in theposition shown until the lower end of arm 4 has moved to the oppositeend end thereof depresses the front end of lever 3 to thereby releasethe rear end from swingle 3B. The potential torsional force previouslycreated on the cradle 23 by the tensional force in spring 28 is thusenabled the cradle and swingle snap in a clockwise direction and theprojection 25 pushes one of the fingers 25 in stack S forward into thepath traveled by arm 4. Latch lever 33 at the left side of the machineis thus freed to move into its latching position with the left end ofswingle 30. The latch levers 33, 33 may be spring loaded to theirhorizontal latching positions if desired or may be arranged as shownwith lever arms of unequal length whereby the rear end of the lever associated with the longer lever arm will fall by gravity into it horizontallatching position.

The manner in which the machine operates is believed to be obvious fromthe foregoing description and hence no particularly detailed explanationis believed necessary. However in brief summary, the mode of operationis as follows:

Arm 4 is first placed in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the lowermostfinger 28 in the stack S is pushed forward by the projection 25 onexcept when the of its stroke and the lower to act with the result that"band to be slid easily off the fingers.

cradle 23. The free end of the band material It to be folded is nextpulled from the supply reel l5 over a guide hook as, passed between twoclosely spaced pins 35 projecting laterally from the lower end of arm'A, then carried under the first finger pushed out of stack S and finallyanchored to the base plate I by means of pins 36 which upstand from alateral projection 3? on the base plate. After this is done the machineis started by rotating disc H. Ihe band It, which unwinds from reel I5is carried along with and generally follows the path as taken by thelower end of arm l, thus moves to the right and has its starting foldline formed by the lowermost finger 2B of stack S. When arm 4 and theband It reach the right end of the machine, latch lever 33 is depressedto release it from the right end of swingle 33 thus permitting it andcradle 23 to snap forward and causing the lowermost finger in stack S tobe pushed out over the band [6. Arm l then reverses to thus carry theband around this finger of stacl; S to form another fold in the band atthis end When arm 4 reaches its other line at this end of the machine.The cycle then repeats itself until all fingers of both stacks S, S havebeen pushed out in alternation and a corresponding number of folds inthe band layered on top of each other have been formed whereupon themachine is stopped.

To remove the band thus folded in plicate form,

S, S and one of the lease the tension in stacks is then shifted to rethefolds thus enabling the is then cut on" from the supply roll on reel l5operation again to fold another length of the band.

In conclusion, while I have described and illustrated one practicalembodiment of my improved folding machine it will be understood thatvarious modifications of the components thereof may be adopted withouthowever departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for folding band material into plicate form comprising ahorizontal base plate, two stacks of fingers disposed on said plate inspaced relation, an arm movably mounted on said plate intermediate saidstacks of fingers, means for mounting rotatably on said arm a supplyroll of the band material, guide means on said arm for pulling off thematerial from the supply roll, means for imparting an essentiallyreciprocatory movement to said arm whereby said guide means and materialare caused to travel repeatedly through a constant path the ends ofwhich are located outwardly of said stacks of fingers, said guide meansand material traveling horizontally for the major portion of thereciprocating stroke of said arm at a level above the stacks of fingersand then dipping down and back at each end portion of the stroke to apoint below the bottom finger in each stack, and means operated in timedrelation with the reciprocation of said arm for moving a finger from astack into a position over the path of travel or the band material eachtime said arm reaches an end portion of its stroke, said fingers thusestablishing successive fold lines for the material as the latter iscarried back and forth by said guide means on said arm.

2. Apparatus for folding band material into plicate form comprising abase, two stacks of fingers disposed on said plate in spaced relation,an upright support on said base intermediate said stacks of fingers, anarm having its upper end connected pivotally to said support and beingprovided at its lower end with guide means for the band material, meansfor rotatably mounting on said arm a roll of the band material to bepulled ofi by said guide means as the folding progresses, means foranchoring the lead-off end of the band material, means for imparting anessentially reciprocatory movement to said arm wherein the guide meansand band material are caused to travel repeatedly through a constantpath the ends of which are located outwardly of said stacks of fingers,said guide means and material traveling horizontally in a plane abovethe base at a level above the stacks of fingers for the major portion ofthe reciprocating stroke of said arm and then traveling down in thedirection of said base to a point below the bottom finger in each stackand back at each end portion of the stroke, and means operated in timedrelation with the reciprocation of said arm for moving a finger from astack into a position over the path of travel of the band material eachtime said arm reaches an end portion of its stroke, said fingers thusestablishing successive fold lines for the material as the latter iscarried back and forth by the guide means on said arm.

3. Apparatus for folding band material into plicate form comprising anarm, means for mounting rotatably on said arm a supply roll of the bandmaterial, guide means on said arm for pulling off the material from thesupply roll, means for imparting an essentially reciprocatory movementto said arm whereby said guide means and material are caused to travelhorizontally for the major portion of the reciprocating stroke of saidarm and to travel down and back at each end portion of the stroke, astack of fingers disposed adjacent each end of the stroke of said arm, acradle mounted pivotally intermediate the ends thereof between saidstacks, opposite ends of said cradle being adapted upon oscillation ofthe cradle to engage and eject fingers from alternate stacks insuccession, and means operated in timed relation with the reciprocationof said arm for oscillating said cradle thereby to eject a finger from astack into a position over the path of travel of the band material eachtime said arm reaches an end portion of its stroke, said fingers whenejected thus establishing successive fold lines for the material as thelatter is carried back and forth by said guide means on said arm.

4. Apparatus for folding band material into plicate form comprising anarm, means mounting rotatably on said arm a supply roll of the bandmaterial, guide means on said arm for pulling off the material from thesupply roll, a lever system for imparting an essentially reciprocatorymovement to said arm whereby said guide means and material are caused totravel horizontally for the mpjor portion of the reciprocating stroke ofsaid arm and to travel down and back at each end portion of the stroke,a stack of fingers disposed adjacent each end of the stroke of said arm,a swingle, a cradle, said swingle and cradle being mounted intermediatetheir ends for oscillation about a common axis, spaced pins upstandingon said swingle extending through correspondingly spaced apertures insaid cradle for guiding the latter, opposite ends of said cradle beingadapted upon oscillation thereof to engage and eject fingers fromalternate stacks in succession, and means connecting said swingle tosaid lever system for oscillation by the latter in timed relation withthe reciprocation of said arm thereby to eject a finger from a stackinto a position over the path of travel of the band material each timesaid arm reaches an end portion of its stroke, said fingers when ejectedthus establishing successive fold lines for the material as the latteris carried back and forth by said guide means on said arm.

5. Apparatus for folding material as defined in claim 4 wherein the saidconnecting means between said lever system and swingle includes atension spring for effecting a snap action of said swingle and whichfurther includes latch means disposed at each end of said swingle andnormally engaging said swingle to hold the same against movement, saidlatch means being engageable by said arm upon reaching the end of itsstroke to release the same from said swingle thereby to permit saidspring to move said swingle with said snap action.

6. Apparatus for folding band material into plicate form comprising abase, an upright support on said base, an arm having its upper endconnected by a slidable pivot to said support, means mounting rotatablyon said arm a supply roll of the band material, guide means at the lowerend of said arm for pulling offthe material from the supply roll, alever system for imparting an essentially reciprocating movement to saidarm whereby said guide means and material are caused to travelhorizontally above the base for the major portion of the reciprocatingstroke of said arm and to travel down in the direction of said base andback at each end portion of the stroke, a stack of fingers disposed onsaid base adjacent each end of the arm stroke, a swingle, a cradle abovesaid swingle, said swingle and cradle being mounted intermediate theirends on said base for oscillation about a common vertical axis, spacedpins upstanding on said swingle extending through correspondingly spacedapertures in said cradle for guiding the latter, opposite ends of saidcradle being adapted upon oscillation thereof to engage and eject thelowermost finger from alternate stacks in succession, spring means forbiasing said cradle in the upward direction, latch means on said baseadjacent each end of said swingle for normally engaging and holding saidswingle and hence also said cradle against movement, said latch meansbeing released from said swingle when said arm reaches the end portionof its stroke, and means including spring means connecting said swingleto said lever system for oscillation by the latter in timed relationwith the reciprocation of said arm thereby to eject a finger from astack into a position over the path of travel of the band material eachtime said arm reaches an end portion of its stroke, said fingers whenejected thus establishing successive fold lines for the material as thelatter is carried back and forth by said guide means on said arm.

Name Date Priester June 11, 1912 Number

